Developer: Orangepixel
Publisher: Orangepixel
Platforms: PC, iOS, Android, OUYA
Tested on: PC
Gunslugs 2 – Review
Developed by Orangepixel comes Gunslugs 2, the direct sequel of Gunslugs. The hectic side-scrolling action-packed shooter is without a doubt inspired by the 80s and 90s visuals. The retro-styled visuals are not the only great feature this game has. It also features over-the-top Metal Slug-like gameplay with random generated levels. Taking the chaos genre to a new level, the game poses similarities to BroForce and the likes. All this makes it a specific type of game that can be loved and loathed at the same time.
Story
As a sequel, the game continues with the ever-lasting domination plans of the evil organization known as the Black Duck Army. You’ve stopped them in the first game of the series but you have only delayed one of their grand plans. Now, for whatever reason, they’re sending messages into the galaxy. Alien technology seems to be popping up everywhere. It is up to the slugs to stop them once more before they manage to dominate the entire planet and galaxy.
Graphics
Inspiration by the 80s action heroes and the 90s 2D 8Bit visuals causes the game to have a nostalgic retro feel to the graphics and gameplay. Each world has their own visual theme, going from deserts to jungle to snow-covered mountains. These worlds not only provide a change of scenery, they also provide enemies inspired by classic movies. The underground creatures from Tremors, which caused many childhood nightmares, spring to mind. There are more corny references to more child-friendly action movies from past and present but these are for you to find.
Sound
Gunslugs 2 has an upbeat chiptune soundtrack which is on par with the retro theme. Unfortunately, the awesome sound design seems to vanish at random occasions which seems to be a gloomy bug. It is quite infuriating when the sound vanishes when you enter a level, only to have it blast through your speakers again when you’ve died or moved onto the next level.
There are several types of weapons, from pistols to flame launchers to rocket launchers to dual wielding pistols and more – each with their own sound. However, the sounds get drowned out by the chiptune soundtrack but this is not necessarily a negative feature as the retro ambiance sound is certainly one of the best features the game has to offer.
Gameplay
The game can be played with keyboard and controller. Moving around and jumping is done with the WASD-keys or the arrow keys. You can fire your assortment of weapons with the spacebar. The controller can be set up in any way that you like as you will need to do this from the beginning, thus it can play just the way you like it. Having tested both, I admit that the game is best played with the controller.
The gameplay is pretty much straightforward. As it is a side-scrolling shooter, you can move left and right in any level. While the themes may change, the levels themselves are quite linear. Once in a while you will find platforms which you can jump on. Scattered around the levels are some dungeons, where the levels are less linear but still straightforward. Here and there, shops are also scattered in the levels. In these shops, you can buy clip extensions, adrenaline and armor in the form of Batman and Robocop that is bound to make you chuckle.
Unlike the first game, Gunslugs 2 doesn’t have random generated secret dungeons which dulls the game somewhat. The levels themselves are still random generated but knowing you’ll only end up with shops and dungeons that look the same every time is plain boring. Especially since these dungeons are mandatory to clear, otherwise the chopper will not pick you to move onto the next level.
In the graphics section above I already mentioned that the various scenes provide various kinds of enemies. A small amount of movies come to mind but it is not just the enemies that will undoubtly remind you of past and future films. The characters you’ll be playing as, which you will need to save far too many times in the levels, can be looked at as a raw version of the Expendables -except they are 80s action heroes. Rescuing these characters will replenish your health as you’ll continue the game as the latest character you’ve rescued. This does comes in handy as certain levels can lean toward the more difficult chaos-packed action scenes, in which you can’t know for sure what is happening. The daily missions are nearly impossible to finish which certainly ramps it up a notch. Other than those moments, the game has a pretty low difficulty curve.
Conclusion
Gunslugs 2 is a mediocre game at best for a 2D platform action-packed shooter in the chaos genre. The retro-styled pixilated visuals and the upbeat chiptune soundtrack are one of the best features this game has to offer. But there are some serious downsides to the game as well. Sound vanishes at random and the game has plenty of missing features, which were implemented in the first game but lost in the second iteration. Other than that, Gunslugs 2 is a decent enough game worth its low price.
Gunslugs 2 - Review,
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